Arms Charges ‘Astound’ Owner of Firm : Accused of Selling Potential Nuclear Weapons Triggers to Israel

The owner of a Huntington Beach electronics firm indicted for selling devices to Israel that could trigger nuclear weapons said Tuesday that he “definitely did not know at the time they could be used for that purpose.”

“I am really astounded that they would do this to me,” Richard Kelly Smyth told reporters after being arraigned in Los Angeles before U.S. Magistrate James W. McMahon on 15 counts of violating the Arms Control Act and 15 additional charges of making false statements to the government.

He was released on $100,000 bond and ordered to surrender his passport pending further proceedings in the court of U.S. District Judge Pamela Ann Rymer on Monday.

Smyth, just returned from participating in a North Atlantic Treaty Organization meeting in The Hague, Netherlands, where he served on a committee doing research on aerospace guidance systems, said he had “completely cooperated” with U.S. Customs agents in their investigation of the allegedly illegal shipments.

“We went over all of this with them 2 1/2 years ago,” Smyth said, “so I really don’t understand why they are making such a big deal about it now.”

Holding up a certificate from the U.S. Air Force commending him for “meritorious civilian service,” he said, “In view of just receiving this, the indictment really was a surprise. I still can’t believe it.”

The indictment, returned May 16, alleges that Smyth, from January, 1980, through mid-December, 1982, sent as many as 800 tiny devices known as khytrons to Israel without obtaining the required license or written approval from the U.S. State Department.

Smyth, president of Milco International Inc., maintained that he had reviewed the general export license regulations he believed were pertinent to shipment of khytrons and claimed, “there was no cross-reference to the munitions list that would have indicated the need for a special license.”

He said he had understood that the Israeli government was going to use the devices on systems to detect the movements of troops. Israeli officials have given assurances to the State Department that the khytrons were not utilized on any atomic project but instead were used in research on conventional military ordnance, laser and radar systems.

Smyth said the sale of the khytrons was made to the Heli Corp. of Tel Aviv, a private company that, he said, was operated by Israeli businessman Arnan Milchan.

Asked if his company was named Milco because of involvement with Milchan, Smyth said that Milchan did not have any ownership interest in the Huntington Beach firm, but “he was one of our biggest customers.”

Smyth said he first met Milchan in 1972 “when we entered a joint venture at the urging of the Israeli government.” He did not elaborate on the nature of the joint venture.

Produced Movies

Milchan’s business enterprises have included producing several Hollywood movies, including “King of Comedy” starring Robert DeNiro and Jerry Lewis.

Before forming his own company, Smyth worked as an aerospace engineer at North American Aviation and its successor, North American Rockwell, from 1955 to 1969. He was chief engineer for the avionics system on the F-111 jet and earlier worked on development of the automatic pilot system for the Boeing 707.